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Saturday, April 6, 2013

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Review

On
a surface level I enjoyed Wither but there were parts of me that remained
stubbornly incredulous and even a little bit derisive at times. This is a
dystopian YA novel so I’m willing to suspend disbelief but I do feel a little
bit of extra work on the world could have made Wither a more fulfilling read. Both
the dystopian elements of Rhine’s world and also some of the character
intentions felt lazy and frustrating. I also felt a bit iffy about it at times
because the concept – one young man sharing three teenage ‘wives’, emotionally
and sexually – well, I find that a little wrong, especially for a teenage book.

There
are moments of beauty in Wither, which was mainly why I kept reading. I also
really wanted to find out if Rhine managed to leave, and take Gabriel with her.
There are a few passages where the author really captures that desperate,
funked out atmosphere and sense of hopelessness – this I enjoyed. But then
nobody ever did anything about it.

I
enjoyed the three main characters in Wither – the sister-wives Rhine, Jenna and
Cecily. The relationship that develops between them is the heart of the book
(not the kind-of-forced twin-brother angle). I probably cared for Rhine the
least, and found her the most un-multi-faceted, but I still did want her to
successfully escape. Actually all the female characters in the book – from Rhine’s
hand-maiden to the head cook to first-wife Rose – all exude some kind of
personality. They are all likeable. The male characters don’t fare so well.
Hopefully Gabriel will come out of his shell a bit more in future books.

I
have heard this book referred to as a young ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ and I can see
resemblances. The Handmaid’s Tale is one of my favourite books and I think
the dystopian elements of it are near perfect. The dystopian elements of Wither
are not. I think it is catering more
towards the romance element, and therefore YA fans of that will really enjoy
it. Wither is quite moody and atmospheric, and actually quite different from a
lot of YA dystopian action-based on-the-run books. I guess its uniqueness is a strong
selling point. I enjoyed it, but only just.

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The Book Grotto is my own little corner of the world dedicated to the very wonderful world of young adult and children's literature. I read so many titles that I just fall in love with, and hope to share a little of that with others - what makes these books great and why you should read them.
I work with books and have studied children's publishing and editing. I am also an author. My children's novel What the Raven Saw will be published in February 2013. I love theatre, mermaids and cabbage patch kids.
Please feel free to say hello at samantha.ellenb@gmail.com. Twitter @SamEllenB